Barcelona manager, Ronald Koeman, is treading on borrowed time

Things are astray for FC Barcelona as they further drown their hopes of grasping the La Liga title this season. The blames point towards only one direction, that is Ronald Koeman.

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Barcelona’s Dutch connection has always been a motivator for success, and maybe for that reason, the club appointed a former Culer to take over as the manager. The doubts over the manager’s future were once clouded, but now they are evidently crystal clear. Ronald Koeman has failed to deliver.

Last night’s 3-3 draw against Levante dealt a fatal blow for Barça’s remaining title hopes. The chase for the title will soon be over as this crucial slip would not go unpunished by the Madrid duo. Yesterday’s game was a mere reflection of all the things that are wrong with this club.

A recap of Barcelona under Koeman

After the Blaugrana suffered the infamous humiliation against Bayern Munich, coach Quique Setién was immediately shown the door. He was replaced with Ronald Koeman. After a full season, no noticeable improvements were seen.

The Dutchman was never considered as one of the great managers of modern football, still, fans hoped that a former player who has played for the crest would do better. That was not the case. The problems with Koeman reside solely with his stubbornness. He is somehow oblivious to see the bigger picture for the greater good.

Before the arrival of several Barcelona starlets who feature regularly this season, came Riqui Puig. A La Masia product that embodied the spirit of Andrés Iniesta. Puig showed promise, his linkup plays with Messi were a thing of beauty, but Riqui’s lack of game time this season has been nothing short of astonishment for the supporters.

Koeman doesn’t see what the 21-year-old brings to the table. Puig boldly stepped up to convert the vital final penalty against Real Sociedad in the semi-final of the Super Cup. After constant tries, the prodigy has only been reduced to warm the benches. He only started two games in the league this season. A good manager would never have left his most creative youngster on the bench.

The defense has been nothing short of shambolic for Barça. What used to be one of the best defenses, has reduced into a burdened fragility. Teams like Levante or Granada face little to no problems finding the back of the net. Over-reliance on Messi, unsure where to play de Jong, or what purpose does players like Trincão, Roberto, or Pjanić serve is still an enigma to the Dutch boss.

"“Coaches are always questioned but I understand that, after that second half, there are questions. We are disappointed and we’re wondering what happened. We have to move on and prepare for next season. As a coach, you’re always responsible. We spoke at half time about improving defensively and not dropping our intensity. We were hopeful, we were 2-0 ahead. You don’t expect to draw from there. Our aim was to win all three games and hope that the others would lose points, but now it’s difficult. Games last for 90 minutes and we lost a lot in the second half. They caused problems and we didn’t defend well. It’s very disappointing. It’s impossible to understand what happened. It’s difficult to explain it.” – Ronald Koeman via Fotmob."

The boss has remained clueless about how to fix this team. The team certainly has not improved. The camaraderie is now at the question. Young talented players like Puig and Trincão have started to think of contributing elsewhere. The expectations rest on older players to perform at their absolute best, with several younger players not considered into the gaffer’s plans.

Only one trophy is not enough to hide the chinks in the armor for Barcelona. The top team which inflicted fear into their opponent’s throbbing heart is lost. Will Messi stay and help the future project sacrificing his career by carrying the team? Would Koeman be kept for another season? Too many questions, too few solutions.

Who could replace Koeman?